Loom picker



H. M. BACON Nov. 15 1949 LOOM PICKER 2 sheets-sheet 1 Filed Sept. 15, 1945 INVENTOR %;en/g WW. QQaAww, BY @Wfljn 8* My ATTQRNEYS K MEYJ SQ H. M. BACON Nov. 15, 1949 LOOM PIC/KER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fild Sept. 13, 1945 INVENTOR may M. 6mm

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ATTORNEYS Patented Nov. 15, 1949 LOOM PICKER Henry M. Bacon, Dayton, Ohio, assignor to The Dayton Rubber Company, a corporation of Ohio Application September 13, 1945, Serial No. 616,120

2 Claims. 1

This invention relates to loom pickers, and particularly to loom pickers for the use on multiple shuttle looms.

Until recently loom pickers were exclusively manufactured of rawhide; such pickers, however, did not prove very satisfactory. One of their many disadvantages is that the rawhide material is not uniform and consequently the pickers made therefrom showed fluctuations with regard to their qualities. Rawhide pickers have to be oiled and then become easily distorted, which in turn entails unsatisfactory throw of the shuttle, another drawback of rawhide pickers.

Later on pickers were used which were made of fabric bonded by Bakelite. These pickers, however, proved too hard and often even brittle and thus caused premature wear of the picker stick. Furthermore, these Bakelite-bonded fabric pickers were found to lack resilience so that at the shuttle contact no cushioning effect existed. Another consequence of the lack of resiliency is that the steel points, which are usually arranged in the shuttle head of such pickers for strengthening purposes, gradually become loose during operation by the impact of the shuttle.

More resilient pickers have been made of rubberized fabric. These pickers give a more satisfactory service than the ones used theretofore, yet they still show a number of disadvantages. For example, it causes difficulties to control the hardness in such pickers and in the picker stick as closeiy as is necessary. If the material of the picker is too hard, it shatters under the impact of the shuttle. Furthermore, under the present conditions of molding such pickers, the shuttle holes cannot be preformed in the head. Besides, there is no cushioning effect in such hard picker heads.

It is an object of this invention to provide pickers in which all these drawbacks encountered in the above described pickers previously used have been overcome, and which in addition, show a number of advantages which make the new picker of this invention extremely satisfactory.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a picker in which optimal strength and high resiliency are combined.

It is another object of this invention to provide a picker which has extremely light weight and high strength.

It is another object of this invention to provide a picker which shows a high resistance to impact. v

It is still another object of this invention to provide a picker which possesses a high resiliency, yet does not become distorted under normal operating conditions.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a loom picker, the striking head of which is replaceable after the wear without difficulty.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a picker which is adjustable and with which a perfect shuttle throw can consequently be obtained at all times.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a m picker which, on account of its durability, is considerably less expensive in the long run than any other loom picker heretofore known in the art.

These and other objects are accomplished by making the picker intwo separate parts. The body of the picker is made of a material of high tensile strength and great resistance to impact, whereas the picker head is advantageously made of a relatively soft and highly resilient material.

The invention will be fully understood from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a loom picker of this invention as used for drop box looms;

Figure 2 is a view of the same picker shown in Figure 1, partly in cross-section, taken along line 22 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary view, partly in crosssection, of the picker head as mounted on the picker, this view being taken along the line 3-3 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary view, partly in section, of the picker stick and the barrel, this view being taken along the line 4-4 of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary view, partly in section, of the picker rod as mounted in the picker barrel. The location of this view is indicated by line 55 in Figure l; V

Figure 6 is a perspective view showing another modification of the picker of this invention, this modification being intended for an overpick loom;

Figure 7 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of the modification of Figure 6, taken along the line 1-1 thereof;

Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view, taken along the lines 88 of Figure 6; and

Figure 9 is a cross-sectional view, taken along the line 9-9 in Figure 8.

Referring to the drawings in detail, and in particular to Figures 1 to 5, 10 generally designates a picker body, I l a picker head, I2 a picker 3 stick, and I3 a pair of guides of a shuttle box. The body I comprises a barrel part l4 and a web part IS. The barrel part is provided with a bore l6 through which the picker is carried by the picker rod l1. Formed by the web I and the barrel H of the picker body is the picker hole is into which the picker stick l2 extends. The surfaces l9 and 20 contacting the picker stick are curved, whereby friction and consequently the. wear of. the stick is reduced. The web l5 has a projection 2| which snugly fits into a hole of the picker head Ill. The numeral 22 designates a shuttle hole. In. order to reduce the wear of the web, two pins 23' and 24 are driven into twoholes of the web so that one pin 23 extends upwardly and the other pin 24 extends downwardly from the web. While the picker body is made of strongv and hard material, these pins are made of resilient, wear resistant and lubricating substances so that a cushioning eifect is obtained and the wear of the picker bod-y reduced. Likewise, between the bore IS in the barrel and the rod H there is mounted a rod bearing 25 which also consists of wear resistant material. The picker head itself is also made of a resilient material so that the impacts of the shuttle are absorbed by the head and premature wear of the picker body is prevented.

The picker body It is reciprocated along the rod I! by the impacts of the picker stick l2. With the picker body the picker head II is actuated,

which in turn operates the shuttle (not shown) contacting it by'theshuttle hole 22.

It-will be readily seen that by making the picker in two parts and of different materials, namely the picker body of a hard material of high tensile strength and the picker headv of soft and resilient material, ideal conditions are created. The picker body can bemade of almost unlimited durability; and the picker head being constructed of soft material does not wear out the shuttle as other, so that. at each point of contact there is an element of cushioning material which absorbs the impacts, etc. of the harder elements. Thus, the picker rod, which is preferably made of metal, does not contact the hard picker body but is cushioned in a resilient bearing 25. Furthermore, the

web l5 does not directly contact the shuttle box guides butrather by the pins 23 and 24 01 resilient material which absorbs any shock. The same applies for the contact of the soft picker headwith the shuttle head which is usually made of metal or other hard materials.

Another advantage of the invention is that the picker head is adjustable and that thus its position may be regulated if the shuttle or the guides should become irregular in shape by wear, or if the rods should become bent; thus, a perfect shuttle throw may always be obtained with the picker of this invention.

Another advantage. of the newpicker is that the shuttle hole may be formed in the picker j head prior to its use, a-feature which provides forsmooth operation from the very beginning 4 of operation and immediately after the picker has been mounted.

As materials for the picker body a great number of materials, if they have sufiicient hardness and a high impact strength, may be used. It is preferable, however, to select light weight materials. The best results have been obtained with die-casting the picker body from light metals, in particular from magnesium-aluminum alloys. However, other light metals or other alloys may be used with equal satisfaction. Excellent results have also been obtained with plasticbonded plywood, with plastic-bonded glass fabric, or with processed steel. In the case of metals, it is of advantage to polish the curved surfaces I9 and 20 in order to reduce friction with the picker stick and wear thereof.

The striking head of the picker is preferably made of synthetic rubber materials or materials containing such synthetic rubbers. For example, a fabric which is bonded with rubber compositions has proven suitable.

For the bearings 25 and the pins 23 and 24 a Bakelite-bonded fabric, which is sold under the trade-name Insuroc by the firm Richardson Company, has been found especially advantageous. However, other resilient compositions, for example other plastic-bonded fibrous materials, may be used with equal satisfaction.

If desired, the picker head If may be also rigidly fastened to the projection 2| of the picker body. This for example may be done by driving pins through the head and the projection or by any other suitable means known to those skilled in the art.

Figures 6 to 9 show a picker for an overpick loom. There, 26 designates a picker body. This picker body is. provided with a hole 27 through which a strap 28 of leather or similar materials is guided. The numeral 29 designates an actuating stick to which the strap 28 is fastened by means of a screw 30. The picker body 26 slides on a picker rod 32. which is inserted in a bore 3| in the picker body 26. A projection 33 extends from one end of the picker body 25 upon which is snugly mounted a picker head 35. picker head 35 is again built of cushionin material and has a shuttle hole 38. Two metal guides 36 and 31 of a shuttle box (not shown) are arranged underneath the picker body so that the projection 33,v beyond the picker head, extends into the space between the two guides.

It will be seen that While the initial cost for the picker body of this invention might be slightly higher than. that of the conventional types, it shows a considerably greater service life so. that in the long run the operating cost is essentially reduced by the use of the new pickers.

All of the parts of the picker of this invention which are subjected and liable to wear may be replaced easily and without any great expense. Thus, the rod bearings, the picker heads and the guide pins may be exchanged without any difficulty.

It will. also be. understood that while there have been desired herein certain embodiments of invention, it is not intended thereby to have it limited to or circumscribed by the specific details of construction, materials and proportions, since the invention is susceptible to modifications dependin on individual preference and conditions without departing from the spirit of the disclosure and the scope of the appended claims.

I claim 1. A loom picker having av picker body of metal, said body being comprised of a barrel portion, a web portion, and a projection extending from said web portion; a bore in said barrel portion; bearings of resilient material in said bore; a metal picker rod positioned in said bore supporting said picker body; a picker stick opening in said body between said web portion and said barrel portion having a picker stick positioned therein, said opening having curved surfaces for contact with said picker stick; guides of resilient material in said web, one of said guides extending upwardly and the other of said guides extending downwardly, said guides being positioned to engage the guides of a shuttle box on the loom whereby friction of said picker body with the shuttle box and wear of the picker body are reduced; a resilient picker head composed of fabric impregnated with resilient rubber material, said picker head having an opening into which the projection extending from the web portion is inserted thereby surrounding said projection and cushioning the picker body and the shuttle against impact by absorption of the shock thereof, and said picker head having a recessed portion on one side thereof for engaging the shuttle.

2. A loom picker having a picker body of metal, said body being comprised of a barrel portion, a web portion, and a projection extending from said web portion; a bore in said barrel portion; bearings of resilient material in said bore; a metal picker rod positioned in said bore supporting said picker body; a picker stick opening in said body between said web portion and said barrel portion having a picker stick positioned therein, said opening having curved surfaces for contact with said picker stick; guides of resilient .6 material in said web, one of said guides extending upwardly and the other of said guides extending downwardly, said guides being positioned to engage the guides of a shuttle box on the loom whereby friction of said picker body with the shuttle box and wear of the picker body are reduced; a resilient picker head composed of fabric impregnated with resilient rubber material, said picker head having an opening into which the projection extending from the web portion is inserted thereby surrounding said projection and cushioning the picker body and the shuttle against impact by absorption of the shock thereof, and said picker head having a recessed portion on one side thereof for engaging the shuttle, said head being adjustable on said projection to compensate for wear or other irregularities which may occur during use to permit uniform engagement of the shuttle with said recess.

HENRY M. BACON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,826,484 Schultz Oct. 6, 1931 2,223,857 Prina Dec. 3, 1940 2,259,805 Deconing Oct. 21, 1941 2,267,013 Brahs Dec. 23, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 348,418 Italy May 19, 1937 702,228 Germany Feb. 3, 1941 

